Commanding Officer
LtCol Michael McFadden
Lieutenant Colonel McFadden is from Blue Ridge, Virginia and received his commission in May 1996 as a distinguished military graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. Upon completion of The Basic School in December 1996, he reported to the Army Air Defense Artillery School, Ft Bliss, TX where he was the distinguished graduate of the Low Altitude Air Defense (LAAD) Officer’s course and a graduate of the HAWK Basic Officer’s Course.
Following graduation, Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was assigned to 3d LAAD Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, CA for duty where he served as a Platoon Commander, Battery B and Executive Officer for both Battery A and B. In 1998, he was assigned as the LAAD Detachment Officer In Charge and deployed with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC) until the fall of 1999. Upon his return, he was re-assigned as the Executive Officer, Battery A.
From 2000 to 2003, Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was assigned to 4th LAAD Battalion, Marietta, GA where he assumed duties as the Inspector and Instructor (I&I) and Headquarters and Service (H&S) Detachment Commander.
In 2003, Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was assigned to 2d LAAD Battalion, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, NC for duty as the Commanding Officer, H&S Battery. From 2004 to 2005, he was further assigned as the Marine Air Control Group Detachment Officer In Charge for the 24th MEU, deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom at Forward Operating Base Kalsu. He was responsible for Personal Security Detail (PSD) operations for the MEU Command Element, airfield operations, and held the additional billet of Air Boss. Upon return from deployment in 2005 to 2d LAAD Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was assigned as the Commanding Officer, Battery B. During this period, he graduated from Weapons and Tactics Instructor’s Course (WTI) 2-06.
From 2006 to 2009, Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was assigned to United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) in Suffolk, VA for duty in the Joint Concept Development and Experimentation Directorate (J9) where he served as a Project Lead for multiple persistent surveillance and counter-IED initiatives, as well as the creation and establishment of the USJFCOM forward support element in Iraq.
In 2009, Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was again assigned to 2d LAAD Battalion for duty as the Operations Officer and Executive Officer, where he served until April 2010. Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was then selected to serve as the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa Liaison Officer to United States Africa Command. Subsequent to this tour, he returned to Marine Air Control Group 28 (MACG-28) and was re-assigned as the Executive Officer, Marine Air Support Squadron 1 (MASS-1) where he served from December 2010 to July 2012. Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was then further transferred to MACG-28 Headquarters where he served as the Assistant Operations Officer and Operations Officer.
In July 2013, Lieutenant Colonel McFadden was transferred to Marine Air Control Group 18, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan for duty as the Executive Officer, where he served from July 2013 to April 2015. In April 2015, he was transferred to MASS-2 for duty as the Commanding Officer, the billet in which he currently serves.
Lieutenant Colonel McFadden is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School (non-resident) and Marine Corps Command and Staff program (non-resident).
Lieutenant Colonel McFadden’s personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Gold Star in lieu of third award, Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Gold Star in lieu of second award, and the Combat Action Ribbon.